A living room to last a lifetime

There is nothing worse than a living room that is poorly laid out and/or lacking function. I recently re-formulated a family room so it is comfy, cozy and a room the family wants to gather in.

I did something that some might think is radical; I converted this family’s gas fireplace to an electric fireplace. Electric fireplaces have come so far in recent years and it’s something I recommend in almost all my designs now.

For this space, I selected a Dimplex electric fireplace which appears so real people have to look twice! The flame clarity and colour is like nothing I have ever seen before. Another feature I love is that you can use it all year round as there is a no-heat option.

The fireplace was the jumping off point for the room. I started with a unit that would fit the room and then created the most stunning built-in unit you can imagine to surround it.

To create this unit we used Metrie’s French Curves Collection. This Collection leans towards formal and ornate, but you can take them in so many contemporary directions.

This room needed seating that would work for this family of four; a good place to snuggle up to watch a movie, or separate nooks for reading and relaxing. I chose this giant oversized sectional from Structube.

A great thing about their furniture is that it is super family-friendly and the prices are incredibly affordable. I was also able to add a side chair and a modern rocking chair, which I have been wanting to add into one of my designs forever; I am a bit obsessed with this modern rocker!

Since this company is so budget-conscious, I was also able to add in the gorgeous glass coffee table and raw wood side tables – all within my clients’ budget.

Being a family room, I knew it was important to include some family photos. While I might not traditionally lean towards family photos for the walls, I love incorporating non-traditional and meaningful photos to a family’s space, especially when they are artistically taken.

These photos were some of the most cherished memories from this family and all we did was upload them to Posterjack and with a few clicks of the mouse we chose the frame style, size, and changed the photos to black and white and they were delivered right to their home.

To make this room multi-functional we also wanted to ensure you could swivel the TV so it could be viewed from all angles of the room.

We chose this amazing TV mount arm from Wayfair Canada which allows you to pull the TV so you can watch the TV from any seat in the room.

For this room, pot lights were not in the budget but lighting was a necessity. The room still desperately needed light so we chose lighting from Wayfair’s home improvement category, where we paired together two affordable ceiling lights to give the impression of one large track lighting system in the room.

Finally, what room is complete without proper sound? I am obsessed with my Sonos system which I love having in my own home so I naturally want all my clients to get it as well.

The Sonos PLAYBAR connects to my TV – which makes everything I watch sound better – and the stereo pair of Sonos Ones (with Amazon Alexa built-in) take movie nights to the next level with surround sound.

And when the TV is off, I can use all three speakers to enjoy my favourite music, radio stations, podcasts and more!

With all the key components in place, I went on a shopping spree at Homesense to give this room the finishing touches it needed to bring it to life. I grabbed a multitude of throw cushions, side table accessories, pots and bowls which gave it the elevated look I was aiming for.

The final product is a living room all member of the family can enjoy in the way they want to – watching TV, reading, relaxing, or having conversations. This room works for the entire family which is exactly what they wanted. And I was delighted to create it for them!

Jo Alcorn is a celebrity designer with her own line of furniture and pet-friendly decor accessories. Visit her at www.whitewashco.ca.

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